O2: Problem with return of faulty phone

Llyllyll

Wonder if this has happened to anybody else.

I bought a PAYG phone from O2’s online shop back at the end of April 2012. The phone suddenly no longer charges from any mains charger and has to be charged via USB port. The phone clearly needs to be physically examined and that is exactly what I would expect.

I have however just had a long and fruitless webchat with O2 with them insisting that it has to be taken into a shop (as the phone is over 28 days old). I explained that I bought it online/by post for convenience and would like to return it by same. I also explained that I didn’t think it very reasonable or pragmatic for O2 to expect a customer to commit to the time and costs of a >30 mile round trip (nearest stores are both circa 15 - 16 miles away) with a 20 month old toddler in tow. The fact that I was even having to discuss it at all rather then simply being given the address to send faulty handsets to does make me wonder about their CS.

This seemed somewhat unusual to me so I asked, just so that I could be completely clear on the issue, for confirmation that no matter how impractical or costly it may be, O2’s policy is that every single person with a faulty handset that is over 28 days old must, in any and all circumstances, traipse to a store for it to be reviewed? The answer I received to this question was “We do have the provision to get the phone repaired free of cost if the phone is under warranty and if there is any charges incurred so our staff will confirm the same.”

So I asked again. The answer I got this time was “I'm sorry for all the inconvenience caused to you.”

All I want to is post the phone back to a repair centre. Is it me? Am I being unreasonable? Are my expectations too high?

chanz4

Not many places will collect, take it to the manufactures approved repair center

Buzby

Yes, it is you! The chances are (1) the mains charger is duff - have you checked there is voltage going to the pins on the recharging plug? If there is, then (2) the recharging socket may have a fractured track on the PCB meaning this method (only) cannot be used to recharge the handset.

A little bit of additional investigation will identify the shortcoming, and if a replacement charger is needed, you are looking to spend avout £3.00 incl postage.

Llyllyll

chanz4 wrote: »

Not many places will collect, take it to the manufactures approved repair center

Don't want them to collect, just provide an address I can send it to.

Buzby wrote: »

Yes, it is you! The chances are (1) the mains charger is duff - have you checked there is voltage going to the pins on the recharging plug? If there is, then (2) the recharging socket may have a fractured track on the PCB meaning this method (only) cannot be used to recharge the handset.

A little bit of additional investigation will identify the shortcoming, and if a replacement charger is needed, you are looking to spend avout £3.00 incl postage.

As stated "The phone suddenly no longer charges from any mains charger and has to be charged via USB port." Two chargers have been tried and both work on other phones. No further investigations are required - it's the phone. Surely most people would carry out these basic test before trying to make a return.

A customer's ability to test (or not) for problems is not the issue anyway, the issue is that I bought a product online and it was delivered by post. Why do O2 insist that I take it to a store rather than post it back? Retailers of other products bought online wouldn't do it so why should O2?

Buzby

'Any' mains charger proves nothing, I'm afraid. They could all be faulty, or not suitable - the size, loltage and amperage are all important and must be identical. As for repairs - they have a pretty good repair network that is geographically based. If you cannot make it in, then the you post it to the local store.

Incidentally, if the problem is with the handset socket, it will be a chargeable repair, unless they are prepared to do it as a goodwill gesture. The reason? Careless and rough insertions cause the socket to part from the PCB requiring a resolder. This is classed as abuse and not covered by warranty. A local repairer may well be a cheaper option.

Llyllyll

Buzby wrote: »

'Any' mains charger proves nothing, I'm afraid. They could all be faulty, or not suitable - the size, loltage and amperage are all important and must be identical.

Neither does assuming that both were not used prior to the event and/or that I haven’t checked their suitability.

Buzby wrote: »

As for repairs - they have a pretty good repair network that is geographically based. If you cannot make it in, then the you post it to the local store.

Then why didn't O2 suggest that?

Buzby wrote: »

Incidentally, if the problem is with the handset socket, it will be a chargeable repair, unless they are prepared to do it as a goodwill gesture. The reason? Careless and rough insertions cause the socket to part from the PCB requiring a resolder. This is classed as abuse and not covered by warranty. A local repairer may well be a cheaper option.

Thanks, but surely each repair should be considered on an individual basis. Are you suggesting that the networks (as I am not talking about the manufacturer) know how each phone that comes to them for repair has been specifically treated since it was purchased? Doesn't the Sale of Goods Act state that if a fault develops during the first 6 months after purchase it is deemed they were faulty at the time of purchase and the retailer has the onus of proving that the item is not defective due to a manufacturing defect?

Buzby

Llyllyll wrote: »

Thanks, but surely each repair should be considered on an individual basis. Are you suggesting that the networks (as I am not talking about the manufacturer) know how each phone that comes to them for repair has been specifically treated since it was purchased? Doesn't the Sale of Goods Act state that if a fault develops during the first 6 months after purchase it is deemed they were faulty at the time of purchase and the retailer has the onus of proving that the item is not defective due to a manufacturing defect?

A simplistic view, I'm afraid - we are talking about a mobile phone that is used daily and abused in equal measure with the elements, family members, and the rest. It will not be 'deemed fauty' within 6 months unless there is a common fault that affects all models (or a large proportion of them). You are looking for inherent issues - if someone else handles the phone with respect and it does not break down, thew onus falls on you to prove that you did not. A broken power socket (on handsets and laptops) is extremely common - usually because no care is taken when inserting or being dropped with the plug still in. This fractures the socket and it will not do what it is supposed to do. This will not be the responsibility of the dealer/network, as like water damage, this falls squarely onto the consumer (or their insurer) making a warrantly claim virtually impossible.

mattyprice4004

Llyllyll wrote: »

Thanks, but surely each repair should be considered on an individual basis. Are you suggesting that the networks (as I am not talking about the manufacturer) know how each phone that comes to them for repair has been specifically treated since it was purchased? Doesn't the Sale of Goods Act state that if a fault develops during the first 6 months after purchase it is deemed they were faulty at the time of purchase and the retailer has the onus of proving that the item is not defective due to a manufacturing defect?

I can shed some light on all of the points in the thread from the point of view of a mobile phone company's repair centre.

I used to work for the repairs team in a large mobile retailer, and unfortunately any damage to charging sockets etc would be down to the customer - if it was the handset itself the fault would show itself very quickly (I do soldering and micro-electronics work, any defective joints wouldn't last more than a couple of plug insertions).

Also, we didn't accept repairs by post either. Several reasons:

- Security. If the handset didn't arrive with us, you'd be the first to kick up a fuss. When we say you need to claim from the carrier who sent it to us, you'd kick up a fuss again. All avoidable, and consume staff time.

- The condition of the handset. In store, a representative fills a form out about the condition of the handset and sees the fault for themselves. If you sent it in, you could claim it was 'damaged in the post' or 'I didn't send it like that'. I heard this a lot just from when handsets were booked in from a store, using post would open up a world of pain!

- Returning the handset at our cost. Using a courier to bulk-send phones back to stores for customers to collect is a lot cheaper than sending each phone out individually.

That's about it really, you won't get them to take it by post. You need to go to a store.